Born in Málaga in southern Spain, Jiménez first played on the European Tour in 1988 and improved steadily over the next few seasons. His first win on the tour came at the Piaget Belgian Open in 1992. During a fairly up and down career, he has so far had four main periods of success. He has finished inside the top 100 on the European Tour Order of Merit every season since 1989. In 1994 he finished fifth on the European Tour Order of Merit. One highlight was scoring an exceptionally rare albatross (double eagle) on the 17th hole at Valderrama, during the 1994 Volvo Masters, sinking his second shot on the par-5 hole with a 3-iron.[1]

In 2005 he won the Spanish Pairs final, with Andrés Jiménez at La Cala Resort in Andalucia, Spain.

2008 proved to be another good season with two wins, including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, in which he beat Oliver Wilson in a play-off. His form earned Jiménez a spot on the 2008 Ryder Cup team. He finished the season ranked fourth on the Order of Merit once more.

While defending his BMW PGA Championship title in 2009, Jiménez scored a rare albatross (double eagle) by holing a 206-yard (188 m) six-iron on his second shot on the par-five fourth. It was the second such feat of his competitive career.[2]

Jiménez was named as Europe's fourth assistant captain for the Ryder Cup in 2012.[4] Later in 2012 he won his 19th European Tour event at the UBS Hong Kong Open, and in doing so became the oldest ever winner on the European Tour.

While skiing in southern Spain on 29 December 2012, Jiménez fell and suffered a right tibial plateau fracture, which required surgery and kept him out of competition for several months.[5] He played in the Open de España in April 2013 but missed the cut and returned to the European Tour in late May.[6] In July, Jiménez was the 36-hole leader at The Open Championship. Later that summer, he lost a playoff to Joost Luiten at the KLM Open. In December 2013 Jiménez retained his Hong Kong Open title and broke his own record as the European Tour's oldest winner.[7]

Exactly one month later, Jiménez again extended his record as the oldest champion on the European Tour, securing his first triumph in the Open de España in his 27th time playing the event. Jiménez's up-and-down par on the first playoff hole defeated Richard Green and Thomas Pieters.[9] The win was Jiménez's 14th since turning 40 and tied him for 10th all-time among golfers with the most European Tour victories.

Jiménez is known as "The Mechanic" for his preference for driving, rather than repairing, high-performance vehicles, especially his red Ferrari.[11]

After the winner's press conference following the 2014 Open de España, Jiménez was asked the secret of his longevity. He stated, "There is no secret. Good food, good wine, good cigars and some exercise!"[12]

1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.